A woman in North Carolina is offering thanks to a good Samaritan who helped save her 2-year-old daughter’s life during a severe roadside reaction.

As reported in the Charlotte Observer[1], Jill Fowler was driving her daughter home from a play date and was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Interstate 277. Her daughter, Mia, who has allergies to peanuts and tree nuts, bit into a cookie while sitting in the back seat. Fowler had checked the ingredients beforehand, and told the Observer that they didn’t list any of Mia’s allergens.

Nevertheless, within about 10 minutes Mia started to react, at first saying the cookie tasted “spicy”, then progressing to vomiting and breathing difficulties.

Stuck in heavy traffic, Fowler was unable to pull to the side of the road to administer Mia’s auto-injector. Knowing time was of the essence, Fowler simply stopped her vehicle where it was and switched on her hazard lights, before getting out and opening the back door to get to her daughter.

She took one of the two auto-injectors she carries in her purse at all times and used it – though the stress was getting to her: “I was so frantic, I couldn’t even get the cap off,” she told the Observer. She managed to inject her daughter, but she wasn’t sure she kept the device in place long enough, and Mia’s condition didn’t appear to improve.

By now, another woman came to Fowler’s aid, while a second bystander had dialed 911. The first woman asked the visibly upset Fowler if she wanted her to give Mia the second auto-injector.

Fowler agreed and the woman injected Mia with the life-saving drug. By the time emergency services arrived, Mia’s condition had improved. She was taken to hospital and has since fully recovered.

Fowler never saw or heard from the mystery woman again, but she hopes she will.

“I just want to be able to thank her and give her a big hug,” Fowler told the Observer. “I want her to understand that she helped save Mia’s life.”